Difference between AS and NLD

Post Reply New Topic

I was looking up Non-Verbal learning disability and it sounded a lot like Aspergers. Does anyone know what the difference is between those two?

The names.

Bravo!
Apparently 80% crossover between two. Think NLD covers more the educational side of things & may lack skills SOME Aspies excel in such as maths - esp. things like Geomoetry/sense of direction/some NLDers have trouble getting thoughts on paper/science may pose probs to some also.

Non Verbal Learning Disability isn't in the DSM IV, but Asperger's is. My diagnosis is Asperger Verbaliser.

So a person diagnosed with AS could very well have NVLD instead?

Maybe, but the doctor probably considers things like obsessions, routines and sensory issues as well, for AS.

i think i have both disorders since im so horrible at acdemic things but i have some intense intrests awell

NLD focuses on neuropsychological deficits (i.e., relative weaknesses on IQ tests). People with NLD have poor visuospatial reasoning in comparison to verbal reasoning, poor coordination, poor depth perception, weaker coordination on the left side of the body, and often poor social skills.

AS focuses on overall development. People with AS have peculiar or unusually intense interests, strict adherence to nonfunctional routines, social skills deficits, and basic communications deficits.

One study found that 80% of people with AS also have NLD.

I have done research on it myself and it said people with it also have troubles adjusting to change and they also are literal and concrete thinkers.


Trouble with nonverbal communication, like body language, facial expression and tone of voice

Trouble adjusting to changes

May be very naïve and lack common sense

Concrete thinking; taking things very literally

Great vocabulary

Excellent memory skills

Physically awkward; poor coordination

Messy and laborious handwriting

Poor social skills; difficulty making and keeping friends

Fear of new situations

Anxiety, depression

They sure share a lot of our traits.


http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/nld.htm


I wonder if aspies get misdiagnosed as having NLD. I know some of us have been misdiagnosed as having, ADD or ADHD, Bipolar, schizophrenia, and other mental illnesses.

NLD is also not supposed to be a "developmental" disorder (i.e., having to do with the growth of the brain) as it's thought to be due to early brain damage-- usually involving birth complications. It's described as Right-Hemispheric White Matter Syndrome as most of the scarring focuses on the Right Hemisphere of the brain (in which part the Frontal Cortex largely controls social intelligence which is where there's cross-over in symptoms between AS and NLD regarding social IQ).

AS supposedly occurs more often in males than females (4:1) whereas NLD is evenly distributed in both sexes (1:1).

I've heard lesser quotes of 40-60% of Aspies also have comorbid NLD. A large portion of the Aspies population also had prenatal, obstetric, or postnatal complications which are thought to have caused the NLD.

NLD pretty much presents most AS symptoms except sensory issues, obsessive interests, and the OCD-tendency with the frequent need for sameness and routine, less language deficits, as well as a tendency to be auditory learners.

AS tends towards visual learning (1. visual; 2. kinesthetic; 3. auditory); put AS and NLD (1. auditory; 2. kinesthetic; 3. visual) into the same person and it's anybody's guess as to the learning style to be prefered. Probably a closer more equal combination of visual and auditory.

Like Neant said, weakness in the left half of the body and a great preference for the right is usually seen.

The only question is, when many of these unofficial criteria were being drawn up, how many Aspies were thrown into the mix and therefore threw off the criteria?

Learning disorders are developmental disorders. The ICD-10 classifies learning disabilities as "specific developmental disorders." That's why autistic spectrum disorders are sometimes called pervasive developmental disorders.

Thank you once more, Neant, for quoting things from both these books which I already know very well. You really need to have a little less faith in the DSM and ICD.

In any case, NLD is not in the DSM or ICD and, according to the causes cited, is not a developmental disorder. It is due to brain damage. Brain damage is not considered a developmental disorder unless it's something like PKU.

And learning disabilities can always be acquired through brain damage, such as blunt trauma and these are not considered "developmental" either.

There are definitely developmental forms of learning disorders and these are probably the most common to occur. But nondevelopmental forms, including NLD, occur as well.

Lemme see of I got this right. I'm a dumb hillbilly and for me chopping up brains is a prelude to cooking breakfast in Georgia.

Would it be correct to say that a "developmental disorder" could be caused either by genetics or by something or other in the uterine environment during fetal development, and these would normally be assumed to be distinct and unrelated phenomena? There could be cases where fetal genetics would influence the uterine environment, but would it be correct to assume that these are the exception and not the rule?

I guess the fad this week is the belief that asperger's in entirely genetic in origin. One of the characteristics of asperger's is that the symptoms are superficially subtle, unless you're trying to keep a job or get a girlfriend. There must be a reason why the mental health industry failed to notice asperger's for so long, and why people with asperger's are constantly getting told that "there's nothing wrong with you."

I find it odd that a genetic condition that manifests itself primarily in social interactions and specialized interests would cause such a high rate of birth complications. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's odd.

I would expect that a genetic developmental disorder and physical damage to the brain would be about as highly correlated as people with blue eyes getting in traffic accidents.

I also find it surprising, though not impossible, that damage to the brain would characteristically produce any benefits at all, it's more than rare that car crashes improve the functioning of any system on the car.

Obviously I've missed something. Maybe I should go back to breakfast. I made a batch of black eyed peas with sliced brains once. They tasted pretty good, but I couldn't get used to the idea of eating brains. Guess I'd make a sh***y zombie.

They are considered developmental in that these disorders stunt or delay cognitive/psychological development in different areas. It doesn't have to do with the brain's developmental trajectory per se. Remember that the DSM-IV-TR and Chapter V of the ICD-10 are both mostly theory agnostic regarding etiology (not preferring psychoanalysis, neurobiology, or some other model). When they say development, they mean at the psychological level and not at the neurological level.